"I have been shocked and saddened by the actions of the school, which, in my opinion, reflect an increasing trend of seeing Christians, people like me, being marginalised in the public square, and our beliefs punished and silenced", he said according to Premier. "It was surreal, Kafkaesque", Sutcliffe said, according to the Daily Mail.

The £30,000-a-year teacher said he was "distraught" and had been reduced to tears as teaching was his life, and he branded the actions of the school as "political correctness gone mad".

A schoolteacher could be out of a job, suspended for calling a trans pupil by the wrong gender while praising a group of students for a job well done.

The transgender student's parents also claimed Sutcliffe had unfairly given the pupil a disproportionate number of detentions for poor behavior, but this claim was later dismissed.

He told the Mail On Sunday: "I was absolutely shocked to be told by the head that I was under investigation".

The family of the transgender student is saying that Sutcliffe was "picking" on their child and they would not have complained about "misgendering" had they not thought otherwise because they are supporters of "free speech", reports the Mail. I didn't know what was happening.

"I had always tried to respect the pupil and keep a professional attitude as well as my integrity, but it seemed to me that the school was trying to force me to adhere to its liberal, Leftish agenda".

Sutcliffe also said he feels it is a breach of his human rights to force him to use male pronouns when referring to a pupil born a female.

However, he had been summoned for questioning twice, and he was sent a letter telling him to attend a formal disciplinary hearing this Wednesday, attended by the head and three governors. "I have never looked to impose my convictions on others", Sutcliffe, who is also a Christian pastor, said, according to BBC News.

The investigation reportedly concluded that the "misgendering" of the pupil and "avoidance of using gendered pronouns contravenes the school's code of conduct with regard to demonstrating an awareness of sexual and cultural diversity of students and use of insensitive comments towards young people" and "the use of religious comments in maths lessons demonstrates a failure to comply with school policies. I felt completely out of my depth and intimidated", he said.

The state academy school which employs Mr Sutcliffe said the matter was confidential.

Sutcliffe, who is also a Christian pastor at Christ Revelation Church in Oxford, said he tries to avoid using gender-specific pronouns in his classroom in an effort to balance his beliefs with showing sensitivity to the student.

Mr Sutcliffe, who is a Christian, added he had told senior staff carrying out the probe at the Oxfordshire school he believes it is not wrong to call a person born a female a girl but did not use the term on objective as he is a professional.

Sutcliffe has previously come under fire for his biblical view of gender and sexuality; several years ago, a voluntary Bible club he started during lunchtime was shut down after he answered a student's question on marriage by saying the Bible described it as being between a man and a woman.